The difference between this year's Loyola game and last year's is dramatic, to say the very least.

Loyola came in today ranked #6 with wins over Virginia and Hopkins. The Pards were in this one all afternoon. Loyola did not empty the bench. Loyola did not play its fifth-string attack or its third string goalie. Loyola had to fight hard all day.

Taking on the fully-funded Greyhounds in their premier sport at their dedicated, lacrosse-only stadium is tough for any team. To watch the Pards go down to Baltimore and go toe-to-toe with them was sheer delight, at least for me.

Make no mistake, Lafayette was in this game from whistle to whistle. I'm not saying they should have, but certainly they could have, won this game. Eric Joseph and Jason Sands continue to impress but how about that freshman trio on defense? Very well played. Those rookie longpoles were the stars of the game that I watched today.

Lafayette played a very safe game that appeared to be designed to not turn the ball over. Loyola took advantage of Lafayette's weakness in the FO transition and scored three goals that should not have been. Yes, the Pards still turned it over too often but they had several nice takeaways as well.

I don't know what the final FO totals were but Sullivan beat Graham Savio to the clamp at least 75% of the time, from what I saw. It's just that the Pards still can't muscle a GB out of a scrum (and hang onto it) to save their very lives. I'm counting on this to improve.

Other than that I could nit-pick about this play or that, but that's unnecessary and unproductive at this point. The Pards had a terrific afternoon and deserve congratulations.

Posted: Sat Feb 27, 2016 4:02 pm

Bogus Megapardus

Joined: 13 Oct 2009
Posts: 5880

Location: The Psphere of Pardsvillian Punditry

Also somebody correct me if I'm wrong here, but the Pards went 3-for-3 on EMO, did they not?

Posted: Sat Feb 27, 2016 4:20 pm

seenalot

Joined: 24 Feb 2007
Posts: 1424

Thought I recalled one extra man where we threw the ball away, but overall that was an improved part of this game. Saw the same our of Sullivan faster hands - just could not pull it out and get out, or redirect to an open wing. Personally given the hand speed advantage I felt the wings were pinching too much and not leaving enough separation for a directed shovel - but reasonable people can argue that.

Good effort - stop the throw/catch errors and Ski has these guys moving in the right direction.

The difference between this year's Loyola game and last year's is dramatic, to say the very least.

Loyola came in today ranked #6 with wins over Virginia and Hopkins. The Pards were in this one all afternoon. Loyola did not empty the bench. Loyola did not play its fifth-string attack or its third string goalie. Loyola had to fight hard all day.

Taking on the fully-funded Greyhounds in their premier sport at their dedicated, lacrosse-only stadium is tough for any team. To watch the Pards go down to Baltimore and go toe-to-toe with them was sheer delight, at least for me.

Make no mistake, Lafayette was in this game from whistle to whistle. I'm not saying they should have, but certainly they could have, won this game. Eric Joseph and Jason Sands continue to impress but how about that freshman trio on defense? Very well played. Those rookie longpoles were the stars of the game that I watched today.

Lafayette played a very safe game that appeared to be designed to not turn the ball over. Loyola took advantage of Lafayette's weakness in the FO transition and scored three goals that should not have been. Yes, the Pards still turned it over too often but they had several nice takeaways as well.

I don't know what the final FO totals were but Sullivan beat Graham Savio to the clamp at least 75% of the time, from what I saw. It's just that the Pards still can't muscle a GB out of a scrum (and hang onto it) to save their very lives. I'm counting on this to improve.

Other than that I could nit-pick about this play or that, but that's unnecessary and unproductive at this point. The Pards had a terrific afternoon and deserve congratulations.

When I say I don't know the game - I mean I don't know much about strategy and development - much less than I do in most sports. But I'm familiar enough with Lacrosse to know about Loyola and I can certainly tell when a team is being outclassed - we DEFINITELY belonged on the same field as them. The colorman for the game - who overall I enjoyed his insights - seemed a bit taken aback by our strong showing.

It would be really nice to have a good story develop this year - I'm definitely keeping my eye on these guys._________________I bleed Maroon

Posted: Sat Feb 27, 2016 10:36 pm

pards4ever

Joined: 20 Jul 2013
Posts: 135

spoke to one of the Loyola parents today....was very impressed with the Pards today..great job today...they need to keep up the momentum